xo, goodbye
by renaecantdance
Summary: a murder occurs in the middle of a house party during summer. everyone knows her but nobody knows who she is. who is this girl? and who killed her? you'll have to find out.
1. prologue

i'm not sure if i'll ever be the same after that night. everything changed. i often wonder if i'd still be the same person if none of it had happened. probably not. i'm not talking about love. i promise you, i'm not. it's far from that sort of thing. of course love, or in this case lust, had its part to play; like it does in every story. but with murder, it's different. this wasn't your typical small town murder, even though to an outsider's perspective it was. it was the murder of the teenaged nobody. unexpected. perhaps that's the part that shocked everyone, was that nobody really knew her until she was gone. i also think it's fair to say that you never realize how crucial a person is to a society until they're gone, no matter how much of a nobody they seem to be. but i'm jumping way ahead, so i'll start at the beginning...

* * *

hello everybody,

I realize that it's been several years since my last post of Percy Jackson. I would like to say that I feel as though that's a completed story, but am considering to write a story about the children of the demigods of that same universe. however, I welcome you to my newer stories that are more mature, much like my writing style nowadays. I'm not sure if it's against guidelines to write original stories on here, but whatever because that's exactly what I'm doing. I do however have other ideas for stories and have written 'pilots' for them, if you will. I'll post them too, so please give me feedback on my writing and my story-telling.

thanks so much,  
pizzalovaaaaa (I forget how many a's I have, so let's go with five)

(btw, there is a purposeful lack of grammar, you'll see as the story continues)


	2. that night

from what i remember, it had been a quiet and seemingly peaceful day. the summer vacation on its' unwanted deathbed, and most of us living it up whilst we still could before school came back for senior year. none of us were to predict what would happen that night. none of us were prepared for what followed during that night. and none of us could even think to imagine anything like this happening in such a small and unthreatening town that we lived in. but it did.

 _The lights flashed and the music blared, almost louder than the people chanting along to the music. The house was a mess, the air stank of booze and various other types of alcohol, yet nobody seemed to care._

 _"Come on, Arabella," cooed Yusuf, the quarterback. "Come dance."_

 _"You've got to be kidding," she rolled her eyes, yet joining him on the dance floor._

in case you were wondering, i'm arabella. yusuf is my stereotypical jock friend that I was kind of on and off with at the time. but that's not the important part. more so to the point, yusuf is a key person in regards to my relation to the murder in this story. i'm not saying he was the murderer, he couldn't have been. but let's just say you can never know a person's true colors.

 _They swayed together to the beat and rhythm of the music, making sure to occasionally touch places they knew they shouldn't have. The thought of school being so close was terrifying, and every teen in that house felt the need to make the most of the moment while it lasted._

that is until a moment that shook the entirety of the party population became the only thing anyone could think about. i'm fairly certain that if you asked any person that witnessed that murder to change something back in time, they would change that. you also might be wondering what my relation to the murder is in the first place, considering that this is just some teenaged girl that i had barely spoken to before, but hear me out. to understand it, you have to hear the whole story, and it starts way before that moment. and even way before that party.

 _Arabella and Yusuf dirty danced to the music, in the midst of the swarm of people crowded in the living room. Arabella stopped as soon as she saw Wren struggling to keep some drunken jock off of her. Arabella immediately took action, and stormed over there with Yusuf._

 _"Bro, get off of her!" Yusuf exclaimed._

 _"Says who?" the drunken jock replied, slurring his words._

 _"Are you asking to fight?" Yusuf said, straightening up to look more intimidating._

 _The drunken jock immediately backed off and Arabella hugged Wren._

and this time in case you were wondering, wren is my other best friend. we weren't on and off like yusuf and i but that didn't mean all three of us weren't a bit closer than best friends normally are.

 _"Come dance with us, okay?" Arabella asked Wren._

 _Wren nodded and headed over to the dance floor with Arabella and Yusuf. Soon, the three of them were having the time of their lives together, like the whole summer had been. One last time for summer's sake._

now, it seems that the scene is pretty stereotypical. classic movie-style teenaged party with alcohol, drugs, and friends having to save friends and sometimes strangers from uncontrollable drunk idiots that couldn't take no for an answer. it seems like the 'dream life', but from my own experience i can tell you that none of it really matters.

 _As they were dancing, not any of them took notice to the scene around them. Just one another. And it seemed that everyone else was doing the same. A bloodcurdling scream let through the air, followed by a thud on the ground. The room went silent. Though the music was still blasting, all that was ringing in anyone's ears was the sound of the girl's scream. The thud had occurred right in front of Arabella, completely terrifying her. She music was cut off, teens were screaming and stampeding out of the house. Arabella stood still, in shock. Before her lay a lifeless girl, blood slowly pouring out of her head. Eyes wide open in terror, completely peace-less._

who was this girl? everyone had seen her all summer, yet nobody knew her name or who she really was. nobody bothered to look where she had fallen from, or how. all anyone knew now was that there was a dead girl on the floor of a house, and that they needed to leave before they became a part of the crime scene.

 _Everyone evacuated the house, trampling over other people and even climbing out windows. Everyone there would now be a suspect. Arabella stood there, dumbfounded, in shock from what just happened and trying to figure out who this girl was. It took Yusuf and Wren thirty seconds to realize she wasn't with them and to go back to the area to pull her out of the situation._

no one really knew what she was even doing at that party. and arguably the biggest mystery was: who pushed her, if anyone at all? was this a case of a suicide or a homicide... or both? assisted suicide? of course with later police reports we were to find out that this girl was tamara. tamara lancaster.

you're probably wondering what my initial 'investigation' (if you want to call it that) or interest was in the murder. unlike the small towns you see in shows like _riverdale_ or _pretty little liars_ , until the murder, our town was known as one of the safest towns in pensylvania. the murder came as a complete shock to the town as this sort of thing had never happened before. and the murder wasn't the work of a serial killer. nothing super significant after the murder happened. it's what few people dubbed 'the one hit wonder murder'.

for anyone to really understand the story, i'll have to go back to a few weeks ago. the first day of summer vacation.


	3. 6 weeks before

see, it's a big debate when summer vacation actually starts, but it's my general view that it starts that moment the bell rings for school to end for summer. that rush for everyone to go home and not go back to school for several months. i can recall the last bell ringing, and the feeling of freedom in the air amongst all the high school students, though my recollection may be wrong compared to others.

 _The bell rang through the ears of the high school students, signifying that school was over. At least for a few months, anyway. Arabella shot up out of her chair, and out of the classroom, eager to get home to prepare for tonight. She shoved her way through the tangle of students and made it to her locker, where Yusuf and Wren were already waiting._

 _"What took you so long?" Yusuf asked, slinking his hand around her waist._

 _"Held up by the swarm of freshman outside my classroom," Arabella replied, rolling her eyes._

 _"Hey, at least you're here now," Wren said. "We need to plan what to wear to that party tonight!"_

 _"Oh hells yeah," Arabella replied, and the trio headed off._

'isn't this a party, i thought you were taking me back to the first day of summer vacation!?' – i hear you questioning. however, this party was crucial to the arrival of tamara and her place in the social hierarchy. as well as the drama that formed throughout other social gatherings throughout the summer, that could potentially mean something to her murder. i'm just some teenaged girl, what would i know right? well, it turns out i had a lot more in common with the murder than what i thought.

it's also key to mention that i was in my on phase with yusuf at this point in time, you'll see the relevance soon i suppose.

 _It didn't take the girls long to pick out the perfect party outfit, short and tight outfits that Yusuf wasn't complaining seeing them in. Not that he told either of them that. Of course that wasn't the end of it, it was a necessary by social norms for both girls to be glammed up with their makeup and hair done too. Of course, this didn't stop them from asking Yusuf if they could do his hair, the answer of course was no. Once all ready, the trio headed out to go to the party. They arrived soon at the huge mansion, where music was already booming and lights were flashing. Tyler Griffon's house, no less, the richest kid in school whose parents weren't home for the weekend._

 _"Ready to make a scene?" Arabella teased Wren._

 _"Always," she replied._

 _They headed up the driveway to the house, where they entered and Tyler greeted them._

 _"Hey ladies," he winked, checking them out and then turning to Yusuf. "Hey Yusuf."_

 _"Hey Tyler," Arabella sighed, used to his persistent and annoying flirting with any girl. "Is Kai here?"_

 _"I'm sure he's somewhere," Tyler replied, mostly focusing on Wren._

 _"Hey good-looking," Wren flirted , possibly looking to hook up with him later._

i guess another important thing to mention is wren had a 'friends with benefits' relationship with tyler. you could say that they would have dated if tyler wasn't such a player and went after anything that looked good in a skirt. as far as i'm aware, wren did have a thing for tyler, but was too scared to actually go for him, so hook-ups were as good as it got.

 _"Sugarlips, so good to see you," Tyler smiled at Wren, Arabella wanted to vomit at the atrocious attempt of flirting._

 _"I'll meet you guys later?" Wren asked Yusuf and Arabella._

 _"Sure," Arabella replied, not minding having Yusuf to herself for a little bit._

 _The couple walked off together to the cooler, filled with alcohol and soda. Yusuf grabbed two red cups and poured each of them a beer. Arabella sipped, gulping down the cheap and bitter liquid._

 _"Thanks," she said, taking another sip._

 _"Have I told you how gorgeous you look tonight?" asked Yusuf, wrapping his arm around her._

 _"No, but now you have," Arabella replied, slightly blushing. "You look pretty good yourself, pity you didn't let Wren or I do your hair."_

 _"Ha ha, after last time," Yusuf said. "I'm very precious of my hair."_

 _"Yes, I know," Arabella giggled. "It was pretty funny though."_

 _"If you say so," Yusuf replied._

 _"I do," Arabella replied._

 _"So you're coming over tonight?" Yusuf asked, excited in anticipation._

 _"You bet," Arabella replied. "Just us..."_

 _In the distance, Yusuf spotted a distressed Wren looking around for both of them._

 _"... who knows what we'll do," Arabella finished._

 _"Is that Wren?" Yusuf asked, pointing to her._

 _"Why isn't she with Tyler?" Arabella asked. "Come on, let's go over to her."_

 _She grabbed Yusuf's hand and pushed her way through the crowd of people to get to Wren, she tapped Wren on the shoulder to which she immediately turned around._

 _"Wren, what's wrong?" Arabella asked. "Why aren't you with Tyler?"_

 _"It's a long story," Wren sighed._

 _"Let's go sit down somewhere," Yusuf suggested, grabbing both of them and leading them outside to a bench, where they sat down._

 _"Okay, vent," Arabella told Wren._

 _Wren took a breath and calmed herself down before saying anything._

 _"There's a new girl, and Tyler completely ditched me for her," Wren explained._

 _"That's it?!" Yusuf asked._

 _Arabella quickly nudged Yusuf in the stomach with her elbow, knowing that it was a small matter that meant a lot to Wren._

 _"Who is this girl?" Arabella asked._

 _"No idea, but she's gorgeous," Wren said._

 _Arabella questioned whether this girl would be competition in the social hierarchy or not. As vain and cliché as it was, anyone who was pretty was able to be popular and take place in the social hierarchy. Arabella being decently popular due to her good looks and association with Yusuf, wondered if she could possibly make a bigger dent than what she could, despite not being known by anyone._

 _"Well, you know what this means," Arabella announced, a devious look on her face._

 _"No..." Wren replied._

 _"Time to investigate," she said. "We're going to find out exactly who she is, and make sure she doesn't take Tyler from you."_

cliché, i know. the popular girl getting involved with drama that doesn't concern her, like america joining the vietnam war. this was more than just some high school drama to me at the time, this meant war.


	4. 6 weeks before (pt 2)

though we thought we were properly dressed and glammed up to make the scene at the party, we barely made a dent in comparison to another beautiful girl that turned out to be tamara. no one knew who she was, just that she was pretty and probably willing to hook up with guys that wanted her.

 _"And how do you suppose we do that?" Yusuf asked._

 _"We approach her," Arabella replied. "I guarantee you that she's not as pretty as Wren."_

 _"Oh, I don't know," Wren replied. "She managed to take Tyler away."_

 _"Tyler will chase anything that looks good in a skirt, I wouldn't take it personally if I were you," Arabella told her._

 _"Still it's not like that doesn't hurt," she replied._

 _"Well you're not going to sit here moping," Arabella said to her. "You're going to drink until someone else is hot enough make out with."_

 _"I don't think that's a good idea..." Yusuf interjected._

 _"Come on, let's get you a drink," Arabella said, ignoring Yusuf._

 _They headed over to the coolers, where all the drinks were kept. Wren grabbed the bottle of vodka and poured it into a red cup, and chugged it._

 _"Whoa, slow down there, Wren," Arabella warned.  
"This was your idea," Yusuf reminded her._

 _"Let me drink," Wren said._

 _She then poured herself more vodka and started to sip on it._

 _"How are you even going to approach her?" Yusuf asked. "She's making out with Tyler."_

 _"Already?!" Arabella asked. "That's ridiculous."_

 _Wren continued to sip on her drink as this was mentioned._

 _"Let's go dance, and I'll keep an eye on them when they stop making out," Arabella suggested._

 _She pulled both of them on to the dance floor and started to dance, keeping a close eye on Tyler and this new girl making out, as creepy as it was. Arabella couldn't really tell what she looked like, but she was presumably pretty. Who was she? Did she go to their school? She seemed familiar, but no one could really tell. They took a break and the mysterious girl went to get a drink, Arabella immediately took action and walked over there._

 _"Hey Tyler," Arabella greeted. "Great party."_

 _"Want a piece of the Tyler?" Tyler asked, straight to the point._

 _"I think I'll take a hard pass," Arabella cringed at the thought of making out with Tyler. "Besides, I think Wren wants a piece... speaking of, who was that girl you were just with?"_

 _"No idea," he replied. "She wouldn't tell me her name, but she's a good kisser."_

 _"Too much info," she told him._

 _She walked back over to Yusuf and Wren._

 _"What'd he say?" Wren asked eagerly._

 _"Not much," Arabella replied. "Doesn't even know her name so she clearly doesn't matter all that much to him."_

 _Wren gave off a sly grin, happy that she at least meant something to him._

 _"Also, he's looking for more hook-ups, so I'd go over if I were you," Arabella told her._

 _"Thanks Bells," Wren smiled, and walked over to Tyler._

 _"Got you to myself again, it seems," Arabella smiled at Yusuf._

 _"Can I have this dance?" Yusuf asked her._

 _"Of course," she smiled back._

so now you see why everyone knew who this girl was, but no one really knew who she was. she literally refused to tell anyone her name, yet made out with a lot of the male population. oh yes, tyler wasn't the only hook up from that party. but i'm getting to that. you're probably thinking – 'how did no one find out this girl's name throughout the entire summer?' and honestly, i'm still wondering the same thing. i guess an important thing to remember is that a lot of people don't even really remember the summer from being drunk for most of it. i know that yusuf barely remembers, and even for me there are blurry moments. and i think that's why it's a mystery in the first place, because no one can truly remember that summer. however, I will tell you that it was a murder not a suicide and that i definitely didn't push her; nor did wren or yusuf.

though, you already know that.

 _Yusuf and Arabella continued to dirty dance to the beat of the music, though sometimes proven difficult given some of the awful song choices. Arabella still kept a close eye on the mystery girl, and which guys she was hooking up with. To Arabella's surprise, it was the hot guys that took a liking to her. Almost all of them. Arabella became fixated on the topic._

i guess that summarizes tamara's entering into the social scene for the summer, as a girl that managed to get most guys' attention and even some girls' attention, not just in the sense of romance but also in the sense that girls were jealous. not just me at that time.

 _"Bella?" Yusuf asked. "Bella!"_

 _"Huh?" Arabella asked, her eyes still fixated on the new girl._

 _"I'm trying to make out with you, and you're fixated on watching the new girl," Yusuf complained._

 _"Sorry, it's just—" Arabella started._

 _"You're worried about Wren and you place as reigning queen of the social hierarchy," Yusuf finished. "I know you too well."_

 _"Is it vain of me to be thinking this?" she asked._

 _"Yeah, kinda," he admitted. "Just focus on having a good time, she's not even going to be at any other parties."_

 _"I guess you're right," Arabella agreed._

 _"You're already the queen bee, what could she do to that?" Yusuf asked._

 _"Okay, okay," Arabella replied. "I get your point."_

at this point in time, you could definitely consider me insecure and paranoid about my own place in the social scene. the thing is that i was previously known as the geek and then did that whole cliché 'she took off her glasses and now she's beautiful' to become popular, taking wren with me. you could certainly say that i was scared that my place would be taken over by her. she was pretty enough, and seemingly had the personality for it. looking back, it was certainly stupid. i admit that many of my actions and thoughts to her were unreasonable, and that i wasn't a very nice person. unlike many other murder mystery stories; i'm not just some lonely yet nice outsider that had nothing to do with the death. i wasn't lonely and i'm not a nice person. i had more to do with the death than i even originally thought, but i'm getting to that.

from that night, i can't remember much else that happened that night, and i can thank yusuf for that. he kept on filling my cup up with alcohol. i can't help but think that perhaps he wanted to distract me from my insecure thoughts regarding tamara, even so it doesn't matter because i can't remember. though not much happened at the party, it was important in the sense that we were all introduced to tamara. no words exchanged between her and wren yet there was already tension. my assumption is that this was the case with a lot of girls, and not just wren. before even really appearing in the social scene, tamara had enemies. this is crucial as to who murdered her as now there is a long list of suspects that would have motive to kill her, even if it is just as simple as 'she took my boyfriend'. murder can be weird in that way, when a small high school matter becomes a crime scene.


	5. 4 weeks before

it was another couple of weeks until the next social gathering, to which i hadn't spoken to yusuf much in person, mostly hanging out with wren and a few other people i was friends with. i'll quicakly go through them: malakai (kai), leo, and maya. all were popular like myself, which i guess is important to mention, in terms of my own popularity. by this point in time, all thoughts of tamara had faded out of my mind, replaced with the adventures of summer; road trips, camping, the whole deal. were some of the things we did illegal? absolutely. but it's arguably the typical high school summer experience, regardless of the legality aspect.

 _The group sat on logs around the previously existing fire, mostly smoking and drinking._

 _"Do you ever think that to a crab, fish can fly?" Leo asked._

 _"You know you're high when that's the stuff you start questioning," Kai laughed._

 _"Or can fish can't see water, like we can't see air?" Leo asked again_

 _"How high_ _ **are**_ _you?" Maya asked._

 _"Six foot three," Leo replied._

 _"Very funny," Arabella rolled her eyes._

 _Kai stumbled over to the cooler to get more booze, despite it being only about 11am._

 _"Oh god, you're so drunk!" Arabella laughed._

 _"I'm not as think as you drunk I am," Kai slurred._

 _"Bella, you're not one to talk," Maya said. "You found mushrooms last night and went insane."_

 _"We all have our flaws," Arabella smiled. "We are the kids that our parents warned us about."_

 _"Okay, I vote we play a little game," Wren smiled._

 _"Why do I feel scared where she's going with this?" Maya asked._

 _"Because she's Wren," Kai replied._

 _"Sh!" Wren said. "Let's play Truth or Truth."_

 _"What, no dare?" Arabella asked.  
"Yeah, where's the dare?" Leo asked._

 _"We're high out of our minds, we'll probably get lost in the woods," Wren explained her reasoning._

 _"Alright then, I'm game," Maya said._

 _"I choose... Kai," Wren said. "Truth or truth?"_

 _"Gee, I think I'll have to go with... truth," he mocked._

 _"A wise choice," Arabella mocked too._

 _"What do you think of the new mystery girl?" Wren asked._

 _"You're not_ _ **still**_ _going on about this?!" Arabella asked._

 _"Wait what?" Maya asked._

 _"Please explain," Leo agreed._

 _"You two weren't here for the first party," Arabella said. "There's a new girl in town and she hooked up with Tyler so he blew Wren off."_

 _"Well what did you expect?" Maya asked. "He's Tyler, he chases anything that remotely looks female."_

 _"That's pretty much what I said," Arabella agreed._

 _"Back to the game!" Wren said. "Answer the question."_

 _"I thought she was hot, if that's the answer you were looking for," Kai said. "I'd hook up with her."_

 _"I knew it!" Wren muttered, only just audible._

 _"She's going insane over this," Arabella muttered to Maya._

 _"Yeah, clearly," Maya replied._

 _Arabella's phone buzzed, she checked it with her cigarette in hand._

 _"What's that?" Wren asked._

 _"Probably a message from Yusuf," Kai mocked._

 _"Yeah," Leo agreed, smoke billowing from his mouth. "Like, 'I love you babe, can't wait until you get home x'"_

 _"No way," Maya said. "It'd definitely be more like 'hey my sweet little love bunny, can't wait to see you tomorrow xx'"_

 _"Oh please," Arabella replied, rolling her eyes._

 _"What is it, then?" Maya asked._

 _Wren grabbed Arabella's phone._

 _"An invitation," Wren smiled. "Beach bonfire party tonight."_

 _"Pull out your best outfits, girls," Arabella smirked. "We're going to make an entrance."_

 _"I'm down for that," Kai laughed._

 _"Not you," Arabella rolled her eyes. "Though, we could make you look a little better..."_

 _"I'm good, thanks," Kai declined. "Not after last time."_

 _"Oh please, you really suited the green sprayed on hair we gave you," Arabella laughed._

 _"Yeah, I suited it so well that I got mocked for the whole night and then had to wash my hair three times to get it all out," Kai rolled his eyes._

 _"Come on then," Maya said. "If we're to look killer tonight, then we had better get going."_

 _"Well you're driving, Maya," Arabella said. "You're the only one who hasn't smoked or drank anything."_

 _"Yeah, I know," she replied. "Pack up the tents and we'll get going."_

 _The gang packed up their tents, and soon enough they were on the road back home, one by one being dropped at home. Arabella texted Yusuf to meet her at her house so they could hang before the bonfire._

 _"Thanks, Maya!" Arabella said, getting out of the car._

 _"No problem, Bells," Maya replied. "It was fun."_

 _Arabella walked over to her front porch, where Yusuf was waiting._

 _"Hey, I'm back," Arabella said, hugging Yusuf. "What'd I miss?"_

 _"This dick," Yusuf replied._

 _"Oh thank god, I thought I missed something big," she replied, a sly smile on her face._

 _"Hilarious, Bella," Yusuf replied._

 _"I thought it was," she grinned, heading inside to change from her smoke and nature ridden clothing._

 _They spent the afternoon out on a bush walk near Arabella's house, just talking. It felt like old times to Arabella, which was a nice reminder._

 _"Come on, we had better head back now," Arabella said._

 _"Why," Yusuf asked. "I'm enjoying this."_

 _"Well I'd like to go to the bonfire tonight, roast marshmallows and whatnot," Arabella said. "And if I want to be ready in time for Maya to pick me up, we should leave now."_

 _"I think you look great already," Yusuf said._

 _"I am not showing up tonight in yoga pants," she rolled her eyes. "Come on."_

 _Yusuf sighed and joined her on the trail back to her house. She quickly got ready for the party, and then headed out to where Maya would pick her and Yusuf up. Her cherry red car pulled up in front of them and they squeezed in the back together._

 _"I have high expectations for this," Maya admitted._

 _"Don't," Arabella replied. "Knowing the people in our grade, someone is going to go home with some kind of burn."_

 _"True," Yusuf chuckled._

okay, i know that this part was slightly, or a lot less action packed than what it could have been. to be fair, there was some important stuff in here. take it or leave it, it's your choice to still be reading at this point. by all means, give up on the story. though, i tend to believe that nobody likes to not know what happens in a mystery. so perhaps you'll keep reading, it doesn't really concern me.


	6. 4 weeks before (pt 2)

so i guess you could say that the bonfire really highlighted tamara's approach to guys in general. i'm not sure if she hooked up with girls too, i was mostly focused on people around me. though, from whispers i heard, i wasn't the only one that was worried about tamara hooking up with guys and possibly even boyfriends. however, on with the story:

 _They arrived at the bonfire and stepped out of the car, where more booze and alcohol were awaiting them. Combined with reckless teens who wanted to immediately down said things into their system. Maya made sure to park around the corner, where she knew her car wouldn't be trashed by her drunken classmates. Arabella stepped out of the car, and peeked around the corner at the bonfire._

 _"I hate to admit it, but it's actually quite impressive," Arabella said._

 _"What is?" Maya asked._

 _"The bonfire," Arabella replied._

 _"Is it actually?" Maya asked, peeking around the corner. "Wow, it is. Who's hosting it?"_

 _"I don't know, maybe Tyler again?" Arabella said._

 _"No, it's not Tyler," Yusuf informed them. "Some new guy who's joining us for senior year, he knows most of the football team, it was Tyler's idea though."_

 _"Great, more dumb jocks," Maya said. "We already have enough."_

 _"Yeah, but if they're_ _ **hot**_ _dumb jocks then you're in luck," Arabella said._

 _"Are you referring to me?" Yusuf asked._

 _"I wasn't, but now that I think about it..." Arabella teased._

 _"Come on, let's go," Maya said, as they all headed towards the beach._

 _"Oh wow, that is an impressive bonfire," Yusuf agreed._

 _They walked out on to the beach, where Wren already was with Tyler. Mystery Girl was lurking around, possibly to make out with Tyler again. As much as Arabella disliked Tyler, she preferred Wren hooking up with him over the Mystery Girl._

 _"Yo Yusuf!" Tyler called and they did their half-bro-I'm-not-gay hug thing._

 _"Hey ladies," he winked, slinking his arm around Wren's waist._

 _"Hey Tyler," Arabella managed to not groan._

 _"Hello," Maya simply said, clearly not in the mood for a conversation._

 _"Well, the booze is over there in those coolers and there are plenty of marshmallows going around to toast them," Tyler told them, Wren tugged on his shirt; clearly wanting to leave. "Anyway, I'll see you guys around... you could say I'm about to be a bit busy."_

 _Tyler headed off into the woods area with Wren in tow._

 _"Am I the only one that thinks Tyler's disgusting?" Yusuf asked._

 _"No, we all do," Arabella sighed._

 _"Come on, guys," Maya said. "Let's go par-tay!"_

 _"I'll catch you later. Bells, I'mma go talk to the football team," Yusuf said._

 _"Come on, Bella," Maya encouraged. "I can hear the s'mores calling me."_

 _"See you, Yusuf," Arabella kissed him on the cheek._

 _Maya and Arabella headed off for marshmallows, picking up sticks along the way, and finding their way onto a seat close enough to the fire to toast marshmallows._

 _"So Maya," Arabella started. "Any gossip? I hear all about Wren and Tyler, so what about you? Any girls, boys?"_

 _"Nah, a few hook ups and whatever but nothing serious," Maya told her._

 _Leo stumbled over and managed to sit with them._

 _"Leo!" Arabella laughed, giving him a hug._

 _"Bella!" he smiled, obviously already drunk._

 _"Maya!" Maya exclaimed to herself, making her presence aware to everyone else._

 _"What's been going on, Leo?" Arabella asked, ignoring Maya._

 _"The Mystery Girl," he smirked. "She's really hot."_

 _"Did you hook up?" Maya asked him._

 _"Oh yeah," Leo smiled. "She's amazing."_

 _"Well you're drunk," Arabella told him. "Might not be as great as you think."_

 _"Drunk on lurrrrve," Leo said._

 _"Oh god, you've got to be kidding me," Arabella muttered to herself, looking around for the Mystery Girl._

 _"Calm down, Bella," Maya told her._

 _"Let me be concerned," Arabella replied, continuing to look around._

 _The mystery girl now appeared to be making out with someone else._

 _"Well, she's already moved on to the next person," Arabella announced. "Don't profess your love too soon."_

 _"Bella, stop obsessing," Maya lightly scolded._

 _"I'm just saying, that if Leo thinks he's got a chance of a monogamous relationship; he's wrong," Arabella explained._

 _"He's drunk, Bella," Maya replied. "I don't think he actually know what he's thinking."_

 _"I think that I love her," Leo piped up, apparently able to decipher his emotions in his current state._

 _"Yes, well I think you need to sober up," Arabella told him._

 _"I'll get him some water," Maya said, getting up._

 _"Leo, how much did you drink?" Arabella asked._

 _"Um there were some shots... a lot of shots," he started. "The chugging contest...the keg... and then just a few drinks when I got here."_

 _"Oh god, Leo," Arabella told him._

 _"That's a lot of alcohol," Maya added in agreement, handing him water. "You need to sober up."_

 _"I can take care of him," an unrecognizable voice said._

 _Maya, Leo and Arabella all turned around to face the voice. Mystery Girl stood behind them. Leo immediately stood up and gave her a sloppy, drunken hug._

 _"I told you she loves me," Leo announced._

 _"I can take care of him, you know," the Mystery Girl told them. "Something tells me you're going to have other things to do."_

 _As if right on cue, Wren ran over to them, crying and screaming both Arabella's and Maya's name._

 _"You'll never guess what happened!" she cried, she then noticed Mystery Girl. "... You!"_

 _"Oh god, Wren, now's not the time," Arabella said as she and Maya held her back from attacking the mystery girl._

 _"I'll take that as my cue to leave," the Mystery Girl said, taking Leo with her._

 _She strutted off into the forest with Leo in tow. Wren had a shell-shocked look on her face of 'him too?', which Arabella and Maya were thinking too. Arabella looked back to see them already making out._

 _"Must she hook up with every single guy?!" Wren asked._

 _"To be honest, I'm thinking the same thing," Arabella admitted._

 _"At least she's consistent," Maya remarked._

 _"I swear I'm going to do something to her," Wren miffed._

 _"Wren, you sound like a psychopath," Arabella said, slightly convinced that she might._

 _"We could get revenge on her," Wren speculated with sudden enthusiasm. "We could spike her drink when she's not looking."_

 _"Wren, as much as I'm not keen on her," Arabella replied. "I am not doing something illegal that could potentially endanger her."_

 _"Yeah, Wren," Maya agreed. "That is so out of line. Tyler's not even worth that."_

 _"Whatever then," she said, but it was obvious she was fuming inside._

 _"Come on, no use standing here. This bonfire is terrible anyway."_

 _"Sleepover at my place?" Arabella asked._

 _"You know it," Maya replied, as they got up._

 _"I'll just let Yusuf know, he can find his own ride home," Arabella chuckled._

 _"No action for the star player tonight," Maya laughed._

 _"Even Leo's getting more action than him," Wren joined in._

 _"Ha ha, very funny," Arabella replied, as they all walked back to the car, making sure to text Yusuf her whereabouts._


	7. 2 weeks before

_"Come on, Bella," Wren said. "We need killer outfits."_

 _"We've had killer outfits each time, it never makes a difference," Arabella replied. "You just want something short enough so Tyler will notice you," Maya added._

 _"That's beside the point," Wren blushed. "I like feeling good too."_

 _"Whatever then," Arabella said, getting out of the car. "I know you'd do the same for me if it was for Yusuf."_

unsurprisingly enough, wren was always insistent that she go out of her way to impress tyler. why? i have no idea. personally, i think that he's a complete douche. this has been mentioned before, but i'll happily say it again though, that's teenage girls for you. it can be argued that yusuf is also a complete douche, but i'm getting to that. i suppose we all have our fair share of bad choices in our dating life.

 _They walked out of the car park and into the mall, which was basically a second home to them._

 _"Okay, so where do we want to go?" Maya asked._

 _"Well, if Wren truly wants a killer outfit, she should go to TopShop," Arabella said._

 _"Yeah, I was eyeing off a dress the other day in there," Wren agreed._

 _"Oh that red one?" Maya asked. "The slip dress?"_

 _"Yeah, that's the one," Wren replied._

 _"I'm sure Tyler will like it, if that's what you're going for," Arabella told her._

 _"Well not only that, but I feel good in it," Wren replied. "And that's just as important."_

 _"Fair enough," Arabella replied. "Where do you want to go, Maya?"_

 _"Well, I need a new eyeliner so I was going to go to Sephora or a drug store for that," she explained. "And I also need some new cheap boots, so I was going to look in Target or whatever."_

 _"Sweet, well I need jeans, so Target sounds good," Arabella agreed._

 _They headed into the mall, heading into TopShop first to get Wren her precious slip dress, and spotted a familiar face; two in fact._

 _"Is that... the mystery girl?" Maya asked._

 _"It is," Arabella agreed._

 _"Get down!" Wren whispered, pushing the girl's heads down so she couldn't see them. "And she's with Tyler!"_

 _Maya and Arabella both looked at Wren, who's facial expression had gone all sad, they then both looked at each other; slightly rolling their eyes._

 _"What do we do?" Maya asked, mostly to Arabella._

 _"Let's spy on them!" Wren added._

 _"Wren, this is a clothing store, we're not scheming," Arabella told Wren._

 _"There is literally no reason to spy, let's just mind our own business," Maya added._

 _"Okay fine, but I feel like we need a code name for her," Wren said._

 _"We don't even know her real name, what's the point of a code name?" Maya asked._

 _"I'm calling her 'TS'" Wren announced._

 _"What, is she Taylor Swift?" Arabella asked, confused._

 _"No! Tyler Stealer," Wren replied._

 _"You have got to be kidding me," Maya told her._

 _"Are you three?" Arabella added. "We're not calling her that."_

 _"Whatever then," Wren said._

 _"'MG' for mystery girl?" Maya suggested._

 _"Good enough," Arabella replied. "It's better than 'TS.'"_

 _"Where'd they go?" Wren asked._

 _"Huh?" Maya and Arabella simultaneously replied._

 _"They were just there, where are they now?" Wren asked._

 _They both looked over at the spot they were previously shopping in, to which they weren't there._

 _"Great, we lost them," Wren said._

 _"What does it matter?" Arabella asked. "We're not spying on them."_

 _"Hey, ladies," Tyler winked, making them all jump._

 _"Tyler!" Wren smiled._

 _"Tyler," Maya and Arabella groaned, rolling their eyes._

 _"Hey sugar lips," he dreadfully flirted with Wren. "What are you all doing?"_

 _"Looking for outfits," Wren replied, biting her lip._

 _"Please tell me it's something short and tight," Tyler replied._

 _"You know it," Wren blushed._

 _"And suddenly I want a long and baggy outfit," Arabella said, grossed out by Tyler._

 _"Ugh, ditto," Maya agreed._

 _"Hang on, there's the mystery girl," Tyler said. "I'm helping her pick out a hot outfit."_

 _"Poor girl," Arabella muttered._

 _The tragically donned 'MG' walked around the racks of clothing, eyeing off the clothes, Tyler walked over and put his arm around her waist._

 _"Get off, Tyler," she scolded, pushing him off of her. "I didn't ask you to be here, so please leave me alone."_

 _"But you're so hot!" Tyler exclaimed, not getting it._

 _Unfortunately for Arabella's sake, Wren had gone off as soon as he went over to MG, and had not been able to hear the conversation taking place between them. As far as Arabella was concerned, MG was not a threat. At least not to Wren and Tyler, anyway._

 _"Tyler, just because I hooked up with you a few times, doesn't mean I want you," she told him._

 _"I'd like some hot sex right now," Tyler announced. "You coming, mystery girl? Heh, you soon will be."_

 _"I'd sooner lick a public toilet seat," she retorted._

 _"I don't think you got it, see I said 'you coming? you soon will be,'" he chuckled to himself._

 _"I got it. Anyone that overheard us got it. That ugly shirt over there got it. But you're not going to get it," she retorted. "Got it?"_

 _"I'm confused," he replied._

 _"I'm not going anywhere near your mosquito-bite sized dick," she miffed. "So please, buzz off."_

 _Tyler finally got it and left her alone._

 _"She's crafty with insults, I'll give her that," Arabella muttered._

 _"Should we have helped her?" Maya asked._

 _"No, it's not our problem," Arabella replied. "Come on, let's find Wren and get out of here."_

 _Arabella quickly texted Wren, who replied that she was waiting outside the front of the store. They hurried out of the store to inform Wren of what they'd just witnessed, until they saw Wren making out with Tyler._

 _"Yuck," Arabella said, scrunching her nose up._

 _"I actually have no idea what she sees in him," Maya muttered to Arabella._

 _"Yeah neither, he's an arrogant pig," Arabella agreed._

 _Wren lifted her head up from her make out session and raised her eyebrows at the girls. They knew exactly what that meant; to go and do stuff without her. Arabella especially was all too familiar with this look, constantly being ditched for a guy that wasn't even interested in her. She was thankful she had Maya with her._

 _"Come on, let's go," Arabella said half-heartedly. "She's not going to budge, even if she's just sloppy seconds."_

 _"Ouch, harsh," Maya said._

 _"But true," Arabella told her._

 _"Yeah," Maya agreed._

 _The two girls enjoyed the rest of their afternoon shopping without Wren, and Arabella couldn't help but feel as though it was slightly nicer without Wren. Though, she would never admit that to Wren, or even properly to herself. Once back at Arabella's place, the girls started to get ready for the party._

 _"Okay I can't believe that Wren ditched us for Tyler," Maya said._

 _"I can," Arabella replied. "She's always doing this."_

 _"What happened to 'mates before dates'?" Maya asked. "Bros before hoes?"_

 _"Who knows?" Arabella said. "Come on, let's go. The party would've started an hour ago."_

 _"Unlucky Wren, she'll still be wearing that awful outfit," Maya said._

 _"Oh well, that's her own fault," Arabella laughed._

 _"Where is the party at?" Maya asked._

 _"Skylar's house, I'm pretty sure," Arabella replied. "Her parents are in Vienna so she has a free house."_

 _"Must be nice to be rich," Maya said._

 _"Yeah, I know," Arabella said. "Also, we gotta pick Kai up."_

 _"Well come on, let's go," Maya said._

 _The girls headed out to Maya's parent's car and drove off, ready to party._

if there is one thing i regret on this day, it would be not helping out tamara with tyler. even if tyler backed off in the end and left her alone. i can't help but think perhaps it would have helped, and i would have helped anyone else in a heartbeat. so why not her? i generally like to think that girls need to stick together against this sort of behavior, so why was it necessary for me to go against something i stand for to be spiteful?


	8. 2 weeks before (pt 2)

to be perfectly honest, this next party is where things started to take an awful turn, if that hadn't already started; as drama got more escalated. and also it had a terrible effect on me as my own life started to go sour.

 _Kai quickly got in the car, and they drove off to the party._

 _"Wait, so who's house is it this time?"_ _Kai asked._

 _"Your ex, Skylar," Arabella chuckled._

 _"And she invited him!?" Maya asked. "That was a messy break up."_

 _"She didn't, but I figure she'll be preoccupied with someone else," Arabella explained. "If she kicks you out, unlucky."_

 _"Thanks, Bella," Kai said, flatly._

 _"Anytime," she smiled._

 _"Speaking of messy relationships," Kai started. "How are you and Yusuf?"_

 _"What do you mean 'messy'?" Arabella asked. "We're fine."_

 _"If you say so," Kai replied._

 _"If you want messy relationships, look at Wren's obsession with Tyler," Maya offered._

 _"He's clearly not into her," Kai admitted. "He likes the mystery girl more than her."_

 _"Are you into the mystery girl?" Maya asked Kai, noticing his jealous tone with Tyler._

 _"I think she's gorgeous, but I don't really know her," Kai said. "Why?"_

 _"She seemed to be checking you out at the bon fire," Maya told him._

 _"Oh really?" Kai asked, suddenly interested in the conversation._

 _"Don't let it fuel your ego, calm down," Arabella told him._

 _"Okay," he said. "I'll see if I can strike up a conversation with her or something."_

 _"You so should," Arabella said, knowing that her Kai together weren't a threat to her popularity. "You're hot, she's hot. You'd be a hot couple."_

 _"Bella, that was quite possibly the weirdest thing you could've said to me," Kai told her._

 _"You just want her to settle down so she's not a threat to you," Maya teased._

 _"Hey!" Arabella disagreed. "You're making me sound_ _ **so**_ _shallow right now."_

 _"Bella, you're pretty shallow," Maya said. "Most things you do have an ulterior motive that suits yourself."_

 _"Whatever, Maya," Arabella replied. "Anyway, we're here now."_

 _She stepped out of the car first, looking around at the state of the house. It wasn't even late but had managed to be trashed._

 _"Her poor parents," Kai remarked._

 _"Whatever, it's not our problem," Maya replied._

 _"Fair enough," Arabella agreed._

 _They cautiously stepped into the house, Kai on the lookout for Skylar, who fortunately was nowhere to be found._

 _"I can't see Skylar," Kai announced. "So it's safe to enter. She's probably in her bedroom."_

 _"Bet you know where that is," Arabella teased._

 _"Shut up, Bella," Kai replied._

 _"It's not like you wouldn't have come in anyway," Maya said, ignoring Arabella's comment._

 _They parted ways, Maya and Kai heading outside to greet people whilst Arabella headed over to dance with Yusuf. They spent a while together, possibly close to an hour. No communication necessary just the beat of the music and the two of them together felt like enough._

 _"Bella! Bella!" Maya cried._

 _"Maya! What's wrong?" Arabella asked, filled with concern._

 _"I have to confess something," Maya simply said._

 _Arabella left the company of Yusuf, he seemed to be preoccupied anyway, and headed over to Maya._

 _"Oh my god, Maya," Arabella put her hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? Has someone hurt you?"_

 _"No, no," Maya said. "It's nothing like that at all, it's kind of stupid really."_

 _"Maya, anything that makes you emotional or upset isn't stupid," Arabella comforted her. "I wasn't even sure you had emotions."_

 _Maya smiled through her obvious sadness._

 _"Come on, let's go sit down," Arabella told her._

 _They headed out to the backyard where they took a seat on a hammock._

 _"Okay, tell me," Arabella said, Maya nodded._

 _"You remember at the bonfire when I said I had something to say but ran off home or whatever... that night is a little fuzzy," Maya explained._

 _"Of course," Arabella said. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."_

 _"I think," Maya started. "I think I like Kai... a lot."_

 _"Aw!" Arabella exclaimed. "Maya! That's so cute!"_

 _"No! It's not," she stuttered. "He likes the mystery girl."_

 _"How long have you liked him?" Arabella questioned._

 _"A long time," Maya replied. "Maybe since middle school."_

 _"You know he liked you from like fourth grade onwards," Arabella told her. "It's only this summer he's lost interest."_

 _"Yeah, thanks to stupid MG," Maya said. "I might not get another chance."_

 _"Maya, MG has only been around for a few weeks," Arabella told her. "And that's all she's going to be: a phase. School will return and everything will return to the way it was. And you can have Kai."_

 _"Yeah," Maya agreed. "Thanks Bella, I'm off to find Wren. She needs some sense talked into her about Tyler."_

of course, this wasn't the case. tamara died, and left everyone in havoc. of course, this wasn't the only major detail that happened that night. it's time to turn our attention to dear old yusuf, but of course including my own insecurities:

 _Arabella headed back over to Yusuf, who was now talking to MG. Arabella fumed. Yusuf knew that she was off limits, he knew about Arabella's insecurities towards her. She told him everything, how could he do this to her? She stormed over to Yusuf, and coincidentally MG left. All this just made Arabella suspicious._

 _"Why were you talking to_ _ **her**_ _?" Arabella said, as if she was vermin._

 _"She approached me looking for a hook-up, I declined and so we got to talking," Yusuf explained. "She's not a bitch, Bella, you should befriend her._

 _This infuriated Arabella, not only had MG asked to hook up with Yusuf, now he was telling her that she was nice and she should befriend her._

 _"Are you actually serious?!" Arabella asked Yusuf, putting on an offended tone._

 _"She's not as bad as you and Wren make her out to be," Yusuf admitted._

 _"Well first off, she comes looking for a hook-up, as if she doesn't know we're together," Arabella started. "As if Tyler, Leo and hitting on Kai weren't enough for her. Not to mention every other single and straight guy. And now you're telling me that 'she's not too bad' and that I should 'give her a chance', Yusuf you_ _ **know**_ _how she makes me feel. I told you everything about that and now you're trying to be friends with her? What, do you want her to replace Wren? Replace me? Do you want to date her?"_

 _"You're being a child, Bella," Yusuf interrupted._

 _"Am I not good enough for you?!" Arabella asked, tears forming in her eyes. "Is that what this is!?"_

 _"I get it, you're an insecure bitch." Yusuf raised his voice. "I let you talk to other guys, do you want to date Kai or Leo?"_

 _"You know damn well that I would never do that," Arabella replied. "I gave you a second chance from the first time it happened with that cheerleader. That hurt the first time and I would very much prefer us to stay together, but if you're going to do this sort of thing, then I'll spare myself the pain."_

 _"Grow up, Bella!" Yusuf almost yelled, Arabella felt like crying. "God, you act like a child."_

 _"Then go," Arabella quietly told him. "No one's asking you to stay, go on, go hook up with her! Get into her pants, have fun!"_

 _"I can't fucking deal with you," he muttered and walked off._

 _"Are we over?!" Arabella called after him, tears falling down her face, worried that she'd blown it._

 _"Fuck off, Arabella," he replied, continuing to walk away._

 _Arabella went to go find Maya or Wren. Maya was talking to Kai, which Arabella didn't want to bother them. Especially not because Maya would enjoy her time with Kai. She spotted Wren by a drinks table and pulled her aside after pouring herself a strong drink._

 _"Oh my god, Bella," Wren said. "What's wrong?"_

 _"Yusuf and I had a fight," she explained. "He was talking to MG, after I told him about all my insecurities about her."_

 _"Aw, sweetie," Wren hugged her. "Yusuf isn't everything, you know."_

 _"I know," Arabella agreed. "I've just never felt so strongly about anyone else. I don't know what to do."_

 _"Just let this blow over, I'm sure he'll see your point of view," Wren comforted her. "And if he doesn't?" Arabella asked._

 _"You two have been best friends since childhood," Wren said. "All three of us, really. We were like Ron, Hermoine and Harry. If your relationship fails, your friendship won't."_

 _"Thanks Wren," Arabella smiled, immediately feeling better._

 _She headed back out to look for Yusuf, she saw him walk out of a room._

 _"Thank god," she whispered to herself. "There he is... I should apologize."_

 _She then watched the Mystery Girl walk out of the same room. Messy hair, smudged lipstick. It was obvious as to what she had been doing, or more so, who she had been doing. Arabella wasn't sure what to think, but all she knew was that she had to leave. Without her command, tears started to drip down her face. She rushed out of the house before anyone could question her current emotional state and hastily headed home._

so yeah, surprise surprise, yusuf is a complete douche. or was at the time. still is, honestly. and what's worse is that he had a fling with tamara, but as you know; he didn't kill her. for the record, i don't blame tamara for what happened between yusuf and i. i believe that personally, i contributed. but in the end, it was yusuf's decision to give in to tamara's seductions and hook up with her. which, seriously, was a stupid idea because that just made me more insecure around tamara.

welcome to the minds of teenaged idiots. more specifically, idiot yusuf.


	9. 1 week, 6 days before

after last chapter's tragedies, you could definitely say that i was distraught. i know it's stupid to care so much about him, but i did. i guess i couldn't help it. being friends with him my whole life didn't help either, especially because when it came to guy drama; _he_ was the one i turned to. then when he was gone, i couldn't talk to him, or get advice from him about the situation. he was the first one to 'break' my heart. and he will therefore always be the one to hurt me the most.

 _Arabella got up the next day, her hair and makeup in about the same state as Mystery Girl's after the incident. Arabella cringed. Her first thought of the day was the one she wanted to forget the most._

 _"Kill me already," Arabella muttered to herself._

 _She got out of bed and went to go have another shower; as if that's not what she'd done less than twelve hours ago. Then again, showers were what she considered her 'safe space' where she was able to think about things and plan them through. However, most of the time did not pan out the way she had planned in her head. Once finished she headed downstairs to eat her feelings whilst talking to Wren or Maya, though her shower had made her feel much better._

 _"Okay," she said, once she knew the household was empty. "I had a shower and I've figured out the options I have and what specifically to say to Yusuf depending on the option."_

 _"Of course you figured this out in the shower," she could tell Wren was smiling over the phone._

 _"Stop teasing her," Maya rolled her eyes at Wren, Arabella was still able to tell her facial expression over the phone. "It's her calming space."_

 _"Yes, well anyway," Arabella said. "Wren have you filled Maya in on the big fight Yusuf and I had?"_

 _"Of course," Wren said._

 _"Thank god," Arabella replied. "I did not want to tell that story more than once."_

 _"Yeah, I don't blame you," Maya agreed._

 _"So... later on I saw him walk out of the room with MG," Arabella confessed._

 _"Was he cheating?" Wren asked._

 _"Yes," Arabella replied._

 _"Wait on, how do you_ _ **know**_ _he's cheating?" Maya asked._

 _"Reason number one; MG asked to hook up with him earlier, and he declined," Arabella started to explain._

 _"Isn't that a good thing?" Maya interjected._

 _"I'm not done!" Arabella complained. "Reason number two; I yelled at him to go off and have fun and sleep with her during our fight."_

 _"For the record, that doesn't mean it's your fault that it may have happened," Maya consoled her._

 _"Doesn't matter right now," Arabella replied._ " _Reason number three; she walked out of the room with sex hair, smudged makeup and was basically doing a walk of shame."_

 _"I'm gonna kill him," Wren said, and in that moment Arabella believed that she might actually._

 _"Dump his ass, girl," Maya told her._

 _"Yeah, well that brings me to my options," Arabella told them._

 _"You mean the shower options that don't ever work the way you want them to?" Wren asked._

 _"Wren, shut up! Let her explain," Maya scolded._

 _"Thanks, Maya," Arabella said gratefully. "So option one is, as Maya phrased it, is dump his ass."_

 _"I'm all in favor for this one," Maya admitted. "He was great for a while but it was never like those movies where you 'tame the beast' from his playboy ways. He continued to be a playboy."_

 _"What's option number two?" Wren asked._

 _"Okay, so option number one is to forgive him about it and move on."_

 _"Boo," Maya said. "This is the second time he's cheated on you. You've never done anything like that to him. Who's to say he does it again?"_

 _"Ah yes, I see your point on that," Arabella agreed. "But social status."_

 _"Yeah, it depends what you value," Wren added. "If you value your own state more, then dump him. But if you value social status then stay with him."_

 _"Aha, but this leads me to option three; to toy and manipulate him like he has been doing to me," Arabella said._

 _"Go on," Maya pressed, suddenly intrigued._

 _"Okay, so guys want what they can't have—" Arabella started._

 _"That's a very general statement," Maya interrupted.  
"Shut up Maya," Wren said, pleased about her 'payback' from all the times Maya had told her to shut up._

 _"So if I act like I'm completely uninterested then he'll have to go after me because he'll realize that us fighting might be an actual threat to our relationship, and that would mean he wouldn't be getting action or anything. Not to mention his own social status," Arabella explained. "Therefore the power in our relationship will shift, and I'll have control. So I can then date him without fear of actual emotional attachment and still have my social status. And I can also hook up on the side and not have to feel guilty at all."_

 _"Yes!" Wren exclaimed. "Do that! I'll work on MG."_

 _"You'll what?!" Arabella tried to ask._

 _"Look, Bella," Maya cut her off, ignoring Wren. "As much as I love the idea of you being queen of darkness or whatever and doing what Yusuf did back to you. Is it really right to do those things. Look at how they've made you feel. Dump him, get it over with and then get a hot rebound."_

 _"Wren?" Arabella asked. "Your rebuttal?"_

 _"He deserves it," she simply stated. "He's an asshole, and he has what's coming for him."_

 _"I have to say I'm with Wren on this one," Arabella admitted._

 _"Bella, I can't tell you what to do," Maya said. "That's not my place. Do what you want, but just so you know, I think it's slightly hypocritical. But, I won't stop it from happening."_

 _"I'll do it," Arabella said, mostly to Wren. "I'll have to start blowing him off though."_

 _"Okay, well I want no part in planning this. I'll talk to you guys later," Maya said, ending her line and leaving just Wren and Arabella._

 _"Just us now," Wren said, reminiscing. "Like old times."_

 _"Okay so I'm going to try and lose feelings for him," Arabella said. "Oh, I should make a playlist for this!"_

 _"Great idea," Wren said. "Don't text him back often, leave him on read, and you should maybe even lose your streak with him."_

 _"Oooh, that's cold," Arabella agreed. "We're about to hit three-hundred, so that would really suck."_

 _"Okay, so that's Yusuf sorted," Wren said. "What are we going to do about MG?"_

 _"I don't know," Arabella said. "I don't blame her for what happened."_

 _"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," Wren said. "I'll take care of_ _ **her**_ _."_

 _"Look, please just don't do anything to hurt her," Arabella said. "I don't like her much either, but hurting her isn't necessary."_

 _"Chill," Wren simply said. "I've got it under control. Talk to you later."_

 _She hung up the phone before Arabella could argue with what she was saying. Arabella just hoped that Wren wouldn't do anything stupid, but knowing Wren, if she wanted revenge; she would serve some serious justice._

of course, wren's plan wasn't good. nor was it tame and it definitely endangered tamara's life. but like i said, wren didn't kill her.

until next chapter, dear reader...


	10. that night (revisited)

it has finally come to that night again, after going through everything that happened before this. any suspicions yet? i can already tell you that it's not what you think. but, i must start at the beginning of the night. so here you are, the night that tamara died:

 _Around five minutes after Arabella arrived she saw Yusuf walk out of the bedroom with MG. The second, maybe even third time. She quickly ran to the bathroom, tears welling up in her eyes and soon streaming down her face. The option to stay with him had now faded. She looked in the mirror at herself._

let's also note that despite taking option three, it was (obviously) unsuccessful. yusuf just didn't care enough.

 _"Don't cry," she sobbed to herself in the mirror. "Your mascara is too expensive to be crying about some idiotic teenaged guy."_

 _Her pep talk clearly did nothing for her, as black droplets from her mascara fell down her face._

 _"You are worth so much more than some stupid guy!" she continued to sob._

 _She cradled her head in her hands._

 _"Not that that makes it hurt less," she sobbed to herself._

 _The door burst open, and a girl walked inside. Surprise, surprise. Mystery girl._

 _"Oh my god!" she exclaimed after walking in. "What's wrong?!"_

 _"Oh as if you don't know," Arabella fired back. "What, making out with Yusuf wasn't enough for you? Had to come and laugh at me crying too?"_

 _"Which one's Yusuf again?" MG asked. "Is he that tall footballer one?"_

 _"The tall footballer that happens to be my boyfriend!" Arabella miffed._

 _"Woah... I didn't know that," she replied. "He came on to me."_

 _"He did?" Arabella asked._

 _"He initially said no to hooking up when I first asked him," she explained. "He then later came back and asked if the offer was still there. I'm so sorry, I had no idea that you two were a thing. Why'd he do it?"_

 _"He said it was a 'lesson' for me," Arabella replied. "And I thought that was it but I saw you with him just then."_

 _"I'm so sorry," she told Arabella. "If I had any idea, I wouldn't have done it."_

 _"Thanks, I guess," Arabella replied, wiping away her tears with some toilet paper._

 _"Oh honey," the mystery girl said. "Here, let me fix you up. I always keep some extra makeup on me."_

 _"Thanks," Arabella smiled._

 _The mystery girl wiped away the black smudges of mascara on Arabella's face and reapplied some mascara for her._

 _"There, all fixed," she told Arabella._

 _"So do I get your name now?" Arabella asked._

 _The mystery girl chuckled._

 _"You can call me Tammy," she smiled. "Now get back to the party."_

 _"I hope to see you around, Tammy," Arabella smiled back._

 _Arabella looked around for Wren, and ran over to her once she found her._

 _"Wren!" she called._

 _"Arabella, what's wrong?" she asked. "Your eyes are all bloodshot, you look like you've been crying."_

 _"Yusuf cheated on me with MG again," she told her._

 _"I'm gonna kill him," Wren said._

 _"No! Don't!" Arabella exclaimed._

 _"Fine," Wren replied. "But I gotta go do something, so I'll catch you later."_

 _"Okay see ya," Arabella said, walking away._

 _She decided that she had two options: to either forgive Yusuf or dump his ass. She didn't want to do either, and decided that she'd make her decision at the end of the night after few drinks. She headed over to the drinks table, and chugged down some cheap booze._

 _The lights flashed and the music blared, almost louder than the people chanting along to the music. The house was a mess, the air stank of booze and various other types of alcohol, yet nobody seemed to care._

 _"Come on, Arabella," cooed Yusuf. "Come dance."_

 _"You've got to be kidding," she smiled back, joining him on the dance floor._

 _They swayed together to the beat and rhythm of the music, making sure to occasionally touch places they knew they shouldn't have. The thought of school being so close was terrifying, and every teen in that house felt the need to make the most of the moment while it lasted._

 _Arabella and Yusuf dirty danced to the music, in the midst of the swarm of people crowded in the living room. Arabella stopped as soon as she saw Wren struggling to keep some drunken jock off of her, by the drinks table. Arabella immediately took action, and stormed over there with Yusuf._

 _"Bro, get off of her!" Yusuf exclaimed._

 _"Says who?" the drunken jock replied, slurring his words._

 _"Are you asking to fight?" Yusuf said, straightening up to look more intimidating._

 _The drunken jock immediately backed off and Arabella hugged Wren._

 _"Come dance with us, okay?" Arabella asked Wren._

 _Wren nodded and headed over to the dance floor with Arabella and Yusuf. Soon, the three of them were having the time of their lives together, like the whole summer had been. One last time for summer's sake._

 _Whilst the dancing was going on, the now named Tammy was stumbling around the party after being given a drink by Wren._

 _"Kai!" she called, seeing him over by the stairwell._

 _"Tammy," he said._

 _She somehow managed to walk over to him, almost falling over at every step._

 _"Woah," he said. "What's wrong? What are you on?"_

 _"I think... I think someone spiked my dr—" she started to say, almost falling out of consciousness._

 _"Oh god, let's go lie you down," Kai said, slightly panicking._

 _He helped her up the stairs where he had been hanging out previously._

 _"Has anyone told you how incredibly hot you are?" she asked, attempting to bat her eyelashes, though incredibly out of it._

 _As Wren, Yusuf and Arabella were dancing, not any of them took notice to the scene around them. Just one another. And it seemed that everyone else was doing the same._

 _A bloodcurdling scream let through the air, followed by a thud on the ground. The room went silent. Though the music was still blasting, all that was ringing in anyone's ears was the sound of the girl's scream. The thud had occurred right in front of Arabella, completely terrifying her. She music was cut off, teens were screaming and stampeding out of the house. Arabella stood still, in shock. Before her lay a lifeless girl, blood slowly pouring out of her head. Eyes wide open in terror, completely peace-less._

 _Everyone evacuated the house, trampling over other people and even climbing out windows. Everyone there would now be a suspect. Arabella stood there, dumbfounded, in shock from what just happened and trying to figure out who this girl was. It took Yusuf and Wren thirty seconds to realize she wasn't with them and to go back to the area to pull her out of the situation._

 _"Oh my god," Yusuf said, once outside._

 _He sat Arabella down on a tree stump outside the house. Arabella started crying and screaming._

 _"Bells!" Yusuf cried. "Please calm down!"_

 _"Y-Y-You d-d-d-don't understand-d-d," Arabella stuttered, violently shivering and shaking. "I-I-I knew h-h-her."_

 _"She's not making any sense," Wren muttered to Yusuf._

 _"She's in shock," Yusuf replied._

 _"C-C-C-Can you leave us f-f-for a b-bit?" Arabella stuttered to Wren.  
"Sure, I'll go find Tyler," Wren said._

 _"What's wrong, Bells?" Yusuf asked._

 _"We're... we're d-d-d-one," Arabella stammered to Yusuf, trying to find her voice._

 _"What?" Yusuf asked._

 _"I s-s-said, 'we're done!'" Arabella said, managing to find her voice. "I don't want to be around you anymore."_

 _Before Yusuf could reply she stumbled off, still not properly being able to register what was going on._

 _"Bella!" Kai called._

 _Arabella turned towards the sound of the voice._

 _"Kai," she cried rushing over to him and hugging him. "She's d-d-dead, she f-fell in front of me..."_

 _"Come on, I'll take you home," he said, also in shock._

 _Kai took her home, making sure to make sure she got there safely. He walked her up to her room and lay her down on the bed, making sure to make no sound leaving. Arabella didn't object, but she couldn't sleep. Not that night anyway._

thought that you were going to find out the murderer of this narrative? sorry not just yet. just wait, you'll find out. though, i think you're starting to have a clue.


	11. now (1 week later)

it had been a week since tamara's death, my phone buzzed.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Bella, hey, it's Kai," he greeted. "Just checking in on you."

"Yeah, I'm alright," I replied. "Still haven't slept much."

"Look, I was wondering if you could come over? i have something to tell you.

me: okay, i'll ride over. see you soon.

i grabbed my bike and quickly rode over to kai's house, where he greeted me at the door. i'm not exactly sure what to expect, and to be honest, i'm half expecting a 'i like you' sort of thing.

"Hey, Bella," he smiled

"Yeah, hey Kai," I greeted. "What's up?"

"I have to tell you something," he said, getting straight to the point.

"Yeah, I know," I told him. "What is it?"

"Just come and sit down," he ordered. "It's kind of big."

he led me to his back porch, where he sat down on a chair.

oh god no, he's now going to tell me he's 'in love' with me or something. he took a deep breath.

"I killed Tamara," he confessed.

not what i was expecting.

"What?!" I exclaimed, in disbelief.

"Just let me explain," he said.

...

 _It wasn't long into the party until things started to go bitter. Kai watched as Arabella ran into the bathroom with tears streaming down her face, he knew what had gone wrong. He looked over at Yusuf, rolling his eyes, he had some smudged lipstick on his face. He walked over to Yusuf._

 _"What kind of a game are you playing, man?" he asked._

 _"What do you mean?" Yusuf asked, clearly guilty._

 _"Cheating on Bella?!" Kai said. "You're hurting her."_

 _"She needed a lesson," Yusuf told him. "She needed to stop obsessing over the mystery girl."_

 _"Well hooking up with the mystery girl isn't going to help," Kai said. "It's just making it worse, making her worse."_

 _"That's not my problem, Kai," Yusuf said. "It's not really yours either, so I'd leave it alone if I were you."_

 _"Whatever, man," Kai said. "But don't cry when she dumps you."_

 _"She won't dump me," Yusuf chuckled. "She's in love with me."_

 _"If you say so, dude," Kai said. "Enjoy it while it lasts."_

 _Yusuf stormed off and Kai went looking for Wren, or someone that could help. He went outside where he saw Wren on top of the mystery girl, hitting her face and pulling her hair._

 _"How dare you hurt Bella?!" she screamed at the Mystery Girl, slapping her face._

 _"Wren!" he yelled. "Stop!"_

 _Wren, who was kneeling over the mystery girl looked up, and had the expression of a deer in headlights on her face. She had been caught._

 _"What are you doing?!" he asked._

 _"She's making Bella unhappy!" Wren said. "She made Yusuf cheat on Bella with her!"_

 _"That's not her fault," Kai told her. "That's Yusuf's fault!"_

 _"Whatever, Kai," Wren miffed, pushing the girl into the ground and storming off._

 _Kai walked over to the girl and gave her a hand up._

 _"Thanks," she smiled._

 _"Are you alright?" he asked._

 _"I'll have a few bruises, but I'll be okay," she said._

 _"What she did wasn't okay," Kai reassured her._

 _"What's your name?" she asked._

 _"I'm Kai," he told her. "And you're the mystery girl."_

 _"I'm surprised no one has found me on social media," she chuckled. "Please, call me Tammy."_

 _"Do you want me to get you a drink or anything, Tammy?" he asked._

 _"Nah, I'm alright," she declined. "I'll see you around."_

 _Kai headed back inside, making sure to grab a strong drink and pushed his way through the mass of people to the stairwell. He decided to go up to the balcony to look for Wren and Arabella, or even Tammy. He took notice of the drinks bar, where Wren slipped something into Tammy's drink, to which Tammy didn't notice. However some drunken jock did and didn't seem happy. He was about to go down, until Leo came up to talk to him._

 _"Hey bro," Leo greeted._

 _"Hey, what's up?" Kai asked._

 _"Is it true you threatened Yusuf?" Leo asked._

 _"I didn't threaten him," Kai said. "I told him to stop cheating on Bella."_

 _"He's been cheating on Bella?!"Leo asked._

 _"Yeah with the mystery girl," Kai replied. "She was crying about it earlier."_

 _"Oh god, poor Bella," Leo said. "I'm gonna go dance, you coming?"_

 _"Nah, I'll be down in a second," Kai said._

 _"See you later," Leo said, walking back downstairs._

 _Kai glanced around the room, looking for the girls. He spotted Arabella dancing with Wren and Yusuf, as though everything was fine. He also spotted Tammy stumbling around the party, after being given that drink from Wren._

 _"Wren seriously needs to get a hold of herself," he muttered to himself._

 _He headed down the stairs, towards her._

 _"Kai!" she called, seeing him over by the stairwell._

 _"Tammy," he said._

 _She somehow managed to walk over to him, almost falling over at every step._

 _"Woah," he said. "What on earth has she spiked you with?"_

 _"I think... I think someone spiked my dr—" she started to say, almost falling out of consciousness._

 _"Oh god, let's go lie you down," Kai said, slightly panicking._

 _He helped her up the stairs where he had been hanging out previously._

 _"Has anyone told you how incredibly hot you are?" she asked, attempting to bat her eyelashes._

 _"Tammy, no," Kai told her. "Your drink's been spiked."_

 _"That doesn't make you any less sexy," she told him._

 _She started kissing his neck, to which he was trying to push her off of him._

 _"Tammy, please!" he said._

 _She didn't stop and moved up to his lips, which he obliged and started to kiss her back. He then realized what he was doing._

 _"Tammy, get off!" he exclaimed._

 _"Please just let me have this," she pleaded._

 _"As if you haven't gotten enough with Tyler, Yusuf, or even Leo?!" Kai miffed. "Get off of me, I know where you've been."_

 _"Please Kai," she said._

 _"You disgusting slut!" he yelled, alcohol taking over his brain. "Can't you take no for an answer?!"_

 _He pushed her off of him as hard as he could, and she fell back over the balcony. A bloodcurdling scream let through the air, followed by a thud on the ground. The room went silent. Though the music was still blasting, all that was ringing in anyone's ears was the sound of the girl's scream._

 _"Holy crap," Kai muttered to himself._

 _He quickly ran down the stairs, before anyone could notice that he was even up there. He hurried outside, to try and find someone. Secure an alibi. The music was abruptly turned off, and more people came running and screaming out of the house. All he could really hear was the ringing of Tammy's scream in her mind, and all he could think about was the fact that he had killed her. He searched around, and spotted Arabella, confused and stumbling around._

 _"Bella!" Kai called._

 _Arabella turned towards the sound of the voice._

 _"Kai," she cried rushing over to him and hugging him. "She's dead, she fell in front of me..."_

 _"Come on, I'll take you home," he said, also in shock._

 _Kai took her home, making sure to make sure she got there safely. He walked her up to her room and lay her down on the bed, making sure to make no sound leaving. One home he quickly showered, as if it would wash the guilt off of him too, but it didn't._

 _..._

"Holy crap, Kai!" I exclaimed. "You have to come forward about this!"

"And then what?" he asked. "Go to jail?"

"It was an accident!" I exclaimed. "They'll be lenient!"

"If you tell the police, I will kill you like I did Tamara," he threatened.

"I will take you down," I replied in a whisper.

i didn't wait for kai to reply, i ran out of his house, getting as far away from kai as possible. i needed to see wren.


	12. now (1 week later, pt 2)

i bolted down the street on my bike, away from kai's house as fast as i could. i needed to talk to wren, i needed to verify his story. i know that she had threatened to hurt tamara, or spike her drink. i never thought she might've actually done it. i knocked frantically on wren's door until she opened it.

"Bella! You're crying," Wren stated. "What's wrong?

"Kai..." I muttered. "He killed Tamara..."

wren had a puzzled look on her face, that soon turned devious. her true colors were finally showing, the look on her face verified his story. she wasn't who i thought she was. hell, she wasn't who anyone thought she was.

"Well that's disappointing," Wren said. "I thought I killed her".

"Oh my god," I managed to reply. "What he told me was true, you did fight with her and then you spiked her drink!"

she continued to grin.

"Why?" I finally asked.

"She deserved it," Wren shrugged. "She hooked up with Yusuf and Tyler. She stole our boys from us."

"We don't own them!" I yelled at her, losing it. "You never even dated Tyler!"

"That's beside the point, Bells," Wren rolled her eyes. "She brought it on herself."

"That was _their_ choice to hook up with her," I told her. "It's not her fault."

"Personally, I'm annoyed to find out that I'm not the one that killed her," Wren admitted. "The dose of drugs I gave her should have been lethal."

"You can't be serious," I shook my head in disbelief.

"I'm dead serious," she smirked, proud of herself.

"Why would you tell me this?" I asked.

"You're my best friend," she simply said. "I should be able to tell you anything. You should be the one to help me out of any charges."

"You're a criminal!" I exclaimed. "Where on earth did you get those drugs?!"

"A dealer, duh," Wren retorted.

"You can't expect me not to come forward to police about this," I told her.

"Then I guess you're not a true friend," Wren said. "Who am I kidding? You've always been a piece of shit."

"Wren!" I exclaimed, which to be honest her comment hurt.

"I'd kill you if I could," she confessed. "Unfortunately, it's frowned upon by the law."

i started to back away from her, knowing what she could do if she got annoyed enough.

"Although, having said that..." she spoke as if in thought.

i took that as my queue to leave.

"Okay," I started. "While you decide what you're going to do, I'm just gonna go."

i started to walk away but she quickly grabbed my hand.

"Oh Bella," she smiled sweetly. "You think I'm just going to let you walk away?"

"Wren, if you're sensible at all, that is what you'll do," I told her, twisting my hand out of her grip.

"Wow, you're even more stupid that I thought," she remarked.

she re-grabbed my hand and forced me into a hold. i felt a bone crack in my arm and screamed out in terror.

"Wren!" I screamed out. "Let me go! Let me go!"

she clawed at my face and body with her nails and i struggled under her grip. despite her small size, she had me in a position that i couldn't get out of. i needed a way out, fast.

"Wren, you're hurting me!" I winced. "Please just let me go!"

"Oh how the mighty have fallen," she smirked to herself. "Arabella the great now being pinned down by stupid and naïve Wren."

"Wren, we're friends!" I tried to remind her. "We've always been friends, I would've done anything for you! I would've taken care of Tamara for you."

"You really think I'm going to fall for that crappy speech about friendship?" Wren asked. "I know better than to fall for that. I was always just a back-up friend, I was always in your shadow. You stole Yusuf from me and then disapproved when I went for Tyler, when really he's _your_ ex-boyfriend before you tore Yusuf and I apart. Couldn't handle me having anything that belonged to you."

i had no comeback for that. and as much as i hated to admit it; she was right. i had been awful to her.

"You have every right to hate me or be mad at me," I told her, half sobbing. "But you have no right to hurt me. Please, what's the worse that'll happen if you let me go?"

"You'll do it again!" she screamed, her breath right in my face. "You do it so easily with no regard for anyone else. We're not best friends, we never were."

my vocal cords froze over, as she started to slap and punch my face. the pain stung badly but i couldn't do anything to stop her. i started to shake and shiver, which just seemed to make her more pleased with herself. she reached over and grabbed a large rock from nearby, if i didn't act fast; she would kill me. i thrust up my hips, to which she lost grip of my hands and tumbled over me. i hurriedly pushed her to the ground, making sure that she couldn't get up quick enough to follow me. i dashed out of the house as fast as i could to my bike and shot off into the distance. that was close. far too close. as soon as i got home i slammed and locked the door shut. i rushed around making sure that all the house was secure. no one could enter without a key. still shaking, i went upstairs to take a shower. i was covered in bruises and scratch marks, my hair a bird's nest. once done showering, i sat down and wrote in my diary. i needed to process today's events.

 _dear diary,_

 _i now know who killed tamara. it was kai. wren drugged her and tamara came onto to kai and him being drunk pushed her off of him, but accidentally pushed her over the railing. he told me this today. it was an accident, it wasn't his fault. of course, that doesn't excuse his actions. he killed an innocent girl. though, according to wren, she would've died anyway from the lethal dose of drugs wren spiked her drink with. which is another thing that happened, after i found out about kai's relation to the murder i ran to wren's house. she confessed to spiking tamara's drink. after i found out i admitted that i needed to bring the information forward to the police. she then attacked me, trying to hurt me. or worse, kill me. i managed to escape. i must tell the police about what i know tomorrow. but it's late, and i have injuries that need attention. i realize that maya's heart will be crushed when she hears about kai, but she needs to know the truth. everyone does._

 _xo, goodbye_

 _\- arabella_


	13. now (1 week later, 1 day later)

it's a quiet morning, thankfully. i still can't get over what i found out yesterday. i have to tell someone about it. i'll have to go to the police station later and tell someone. i wouldn't feel right if i were just to leave it. the doorbell rang and i headed downstairs to check it out. surprisingly, yusuf stood at the door. what the hell?

"Yusuf," I said. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Can we talk?" he asked.

"Sure, I guess," I replied.

i let him inside, no idea why.

"Hello, Yusuf," Mom greeted.

"Hey Mrs. Sommers," he replied.

"Are you heading out, Mom?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I'll see you kids later," she replied, heading out the door.

"Okay, see you!" I waved goodbye.

i went to the kitchen, and sat down at the table where yusuf sat down next to me.

"Okay, talk," I told him, firmly.

"Well, first I want to start off by apologizing," he started. "I'm sorry that I hurt you."

"Yeah, you didn't make it easy for me," I admitted.

"I know, and I'm so sorry for that," he apologized. "It wasn't really my intention. I just wanted you to stop obsessing over her."

"I know what you wanted," I told him. "But what you did wasn't okay."

"I know and I'm so sorry for what I did," he apologized again. "If there's a way I could make it up to you please let me know."

"Will do," I replied, trying to bring the conversation to an end.

"There's also something else, that I wanted to discuss," Yusuf said after a long pause.

"And that is...?" I asked.

"I'm not sure how to say it," he confessed.

"Just say it," I told him.

"I miss you," he admitted. "Can we get back together?"

this is what i've wanted him to say for the past week, to apologize and for everything to go back to the way it was. the thing was though, is that it can't. tamara needs justice for what wren and kai did to her. and i deserve better than to go back to him, he was an awful boyfriend.

"...No," I said, unsure of exactly what I was saying. "I don't think I want that."

"What?!" he asked, shocked. "I thought you said you love me."

"And maybe i do, i'm not even sure what love is," I told him. "But the thing is, I can't go through what you put me through again. We bring out the worst in each other and it's catastrophic. I'm not so self-destructive as to do that again, to go back to you again."

"Fine whatever, it's your loss," Yusuf said sourly.

"It's really not. I'm happy to remain friends, but I could never go back to that," I confessed.

"Yeah okay, see you once school starts back up," he said. "The trio may or may not reunite."

"I doubt the trio will survive what's about to happen," I told him.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Never mind, I'll see you later," I told him.

"Bye," he said.

he walked out of the kitchen and let himself out. i couldn't help but feel content with what i'd just done. it was finally time for me to focus on myself, not my popularity or who's shagging who. everything is going to be okay. i went upstairs and put a new entry in my diary.

 _dear diary,_

 _today i did the thing that seemed would be the hardest thing. yusuf came over and asked for me back, which i told him no. which doesn't seem like much, but to me this is the end of an era. with wren about to get her justice (i'm going to the police about it this afternoon) and kai about to get his, it's finally time for me to stop being such a high school cliché and move on with my life. i'm going to promise not to go back to the insecure girl that only cared about her popularity and her looks because life is so much more than that. i'm now starting to look forward to the future and where it might go. cheesy, i know. but important._

 _xo, goodbye_

 _\- arabella_

i put my diary back in its secret spot, and then the doorbell rang. i rushed downstairs to see who it was: wren. she had a malicious smile on her face.

"Holy crap... Wren," I said in disbelief.

"I don't believe I finished what I started," she smiled. "So here I am."

"No," I told her. "Get out."

she pushed me out of the door frame, and i fell to the floor. she strutted into the house and kicked me as she did so.

"You can't know what I've done," she said. "I know what you're like Bella. You'll tell the police."

i quickly opened the audio recorder on my phone and hit 'record'. i needed proof. i also needed to find a way out of this situation. i thought about my options: she was blocking the front door, the back door wouldn't lead anywhere. my bedroom window had a sturdy tree outside of it, and the door on my bedroom had a lock. if i could just get there, i could escape.

"Well say something!" she ordered. "I'm plotting to kill you and you're completely silent."

"Nothing, Wren," I told her. "You've won, congratulations."

"What, no fighting back?" she asked. "This doesn't sound like you."

"I just know you won't get away with this," I replied.

"Ah, the cliché line finally comes out," she said. "The thing is that we both know that I will."

i made a run for it, bolting up the stairs to get to my bedroom. wren caught up to me and tripped me on the stairs. she yanked me by my hair up the rest of the stairs.

"Wren! Let go, this hurts!" I screamed.

"No," she said, firmly. "I'm going to kill you like I should have done with Tamara.

"Wren, why!?" I pleaded.

"Do you have any idea how much time I've spent living in your shadow? It's always Arabella this, and Arabella that," she told me. "I never get to be the popular one. so now it's your turn to live in my shadow. I know that your Mom left when Yusuf was here so they'll blame him without question.

she pressed me to the railing of the end of the staircase.

"Wren, don't do this," I half sobbed. "You're not this person."

"You have no idea who I really am," she smirked. "And you never will."

"Who's cliché now?" I managed to mutter.

she pushed me over the side and i managed to cling on to the railing. my arms were frantically shaking. if i fell, i would certainly die. i swung my leg over the side of the railing, i'm not giving up so easy.

"Nice try, Bella," she grinned. "I'm impressed, but you really think it'd be that easy?"

she pushed my leg over again, and i was back to just holding on with my fingers. slipping one by one.

"You won't go through with this," I told her.

"You underestimate me," she replied.

she pried my fingers off one by one. this is it. this is the end. the last finger was pried off and i let out a scream as i fell to the ground. the fall was in slow motion.

still conscious as i fell to the floor and the blood rushed out of my head, but i'm not going to last long.

i took my last breath and everything went black.


	14. epilogue (wren)

You thought that the story would end with Arabella surviving and me dying? Well, you thought wrong. Arabella's dead and I'm the one that killed her, but Yusuf will be the one to blame. This isn't some fairytale with a happy ending, but that's life. The world is cold and life's not fair.

Until next time, dear reader...

As my dear old friend Arabella would phrase it:

XO goodbye,

\- Wren.


End file.
